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Club Silverstone

It takes all kinds

There's a bumping night down these stairs every weekend.

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It's pissing rain and I'm hung over. Not exactly ideal conditions for a rip-roaring night at downtown Tacoma's Club Silverstone.

Luckily, Club Silverstone doesn't need my help to have a bumping Saturday night. The weather and my hangover aside, the club is packed. Eclectically packed. Every nook and cranny is crowded with partyers of every age, race, sexual orientation, political party preference and jean size.  Girls in raver pants carrying Hula-hoops, dudes in skin-tight tank tops, metalheads with black boots. Anyone and everyone.

I sip a strong drink and roam around. The club's layout is like a 19th century hedge maze, with plenty of rooms and secluded offshoots for patrons to enjoy their drinks in private. In one such room, I pass a group of polo-wearing frat boys laughing with a tall cross-dresser in a black dress. Of course, the most popular room is the one devoted to dancing. A low ceiling, a small space and a big crowd make for a perfect storm on the dance floor. I hear literal squeals of glee when DJ Eric spins Beyoncé's "All the Single Ladies." It's so packed, I have to elbow my way past a dead ringer for Prince (the Purple Rain years). He continues shouting every lyric, unfazed by my requests for him to move. 

Later, I ask a group of ladies why they come to Club Silverstone. Cara, a radiology tech, tells me it's because Club Silverstone has a great vibe and is one of the few clubs in the area that caters to the gay community. Her friend Shawna (married with two kids) says she comes here because the club is different.

"Different how?" I ask.

She pauses to watch a guy and girl layered in neon necklaces walk past. The male leads the female by a leash.

"Different," she says. "Fun."

On my way out, I notice a bumper sticker posted behind the bar. In big red letters it reads: "You are a sick, bizarre, and twisted wacko. And I like that in a person."

Damn straight, Club Silverstone. Damn straight.

Club Silverstone

11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily,
DJ Eric  9 p.m. Friday-Saturday,
739 1/2 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma
253.404.0273

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